The headline and the three paragraphs below are direct quotes from a report in the Stabroek News on April 14, 2021. On the morning of April 15, the heading was changed to “Soldier dies in collision Homestretch Ave.” The April 14 report stated as follows:
“Brian Mitchell, 36, of Craig Street, Campbellville, died last night after a crash on Homestretch Avenue.
A seven-year-old boy in his vehicle sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital.
According to police, inquiries revealed that motor # PVV 3684 was heading east on Homestretch Avenue while motor car # PNN 5516 was heading west on that road. Taishan Shanks, driver of car # PVV 3684, as he was in the vicinity of Help and Shelter, alleged that he saw motor car # PNN 5515 driven by Mitchell swerve from the south side of the road from behind a motor vehicle and end to up in his path. As a result, the vehicles collided causing both drivers and occupants to suffer injuries. ”
The April 15 report mentioned that Brian Mitchell was a soldier, that several people were injured in the crash and that police were investigating.
This is the third occasion in less than twelve months that I am writing about Homestretch Avenue, which I have described as the most dangerous road in the city of Georgetown. In less than twelve months, Brian Mitchell is the fourth person to have died. Three people have already died since the beginning of the year and unless something is done urgently, many more will die.
I have been trying to alert the authorities about the dangers of Homestretch Avenue for the time mentioned above. The width of the road gives a false sense of safety and therefore encourages speeding. The absence of an obstruction in the middle of the road leads to reckless overtaking either inside or over the other half of the road. This is often done when it is dangerous to do so and a collision with oncoming vehicles occurs. Speeding also results in loss of vehicle control as a result of fatal accidents. These factors, along with other hidden dangers, that road safety experts could assess, led to the death of Brian Mitchell on Wednesday night and the others before him.
Removing the dangers of Homestretch Avenue is an urgent task and should have been done a long time ago. Dozens of people have died on the road over the years and if the road had been made safer those lives would have been saved. More people have died on this road by far than any other way in Georgetown. Unfortunately, this road continues to plunder lives with horrific and horrific regularity that years ago should have alerted the authorities to a problem with this road. For a reason I do not understand, the horribly high road deaths and the pain and suffering they caused were completely ignored.
We may have become immune and desensitized to road deaths because of their regularity. Guyana is portrayed as one of the highest rate of road deaths in the world. Or maybe the authorities believe that reckless drivers who bring deaths to themselves are not at fault. Without excusing that foul-mouthed opinion, the reality is that reckless drivers are victims only. Many innocent people suffer death and injury as a result of the type of driving encouraged by an unsafe road.
The Mayor and City Council are responsible for the road. But the well-known reality is that the Mayor and City Council do not have the resources that would be needed to make Homestretch Avenue safe. Only the government has the resources. A few days ago, in a radio interview, Vice President Jagdeo said the proposed additions to the road network include a four-lane highway in Region Three, another four-lane highway from the west side of the Demerara River Bridge to Parika, the Demerara River Bridge four a new lane, the bypass highway from Ogle, a bypass highway from Mandela Avenue to Eccles and plans to build a four-lane road network in Berbice. Clearly, there are plenty of resources to repair Homestretch Avenue, just as Carifesta Avenue was redesigned a few years ago. Since the Carifesta location was modified, there have been no deaths on that road. Although not as dangerous as Homestretch Avenue, it had some of the same characteristics. Little will forget the horrific accident when a young man and woman died in a motor accident a few years ago. Today, with the modifications, such an accident would not have happened.
Despite these modest efforts to attract the attention of the authorities, I saw no evidence that anyone had heard the cries of mothers, fathers, children, spouses, partners, siblings and other loved ones of those who lost their lives on Homestretch Avenue.
This column is reproduced, with
permission, from Ralph Ramkarran’s blog, www.conversationtree.gy